Whatcom filing week Day 1: Incumbents head the list

Day 1 of filing week is in the books as I write this on 5:18 p.m. on Monday, May 12. Incumbents jumped in early, and people are starting to line up for the influential Charter Review Commission.

The complete list of filers is at the bottom of this post. First, an unedited version of the story I wrote for Tuesday's paper about filing week, Day 1:

Day 1 of filing week for political candidates in Whatcom County featured the early appearances of most of the county or region’s incumbents.

In a move that was entirely expected, Suzan DelBene filed on Monday, May 12, for a second term as U.S. representative for Congressional District 1, which includes rural Whatcom County and the small cities.

In the state Legislature, four of the five incumbents up for re-election have filed. In the 40th Legislative District, which includes south Bellingham and the southwest county, Reps. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, and Kristine Lytton, D-Anacortes, will run again. In the 42nd District, which is comprised of the rest of Whatcom County, Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, and Rep. Vincent Buys, R-Lynden, have filed to appear on the 2014 ballot.

Rep. Jason Overstreet, R-Lynden, announced last week he would not seek re-election in the 42nd District. The current term of 40th District Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, expires in 2016.

County Prosecutor David McEachran followed up his announcement last week that he would seek an 11th term by filing for his seat on Monday. He has been the county’s prosecuting attorney since 1975 — the longest current tenure of an elected prosecutor in the state.

In the one race on the commission of the Public Utility District of Whatcom County, incumbent Jeffrey McClure filed to be on the ballot.